Madden NFL 10 video game out in US August 14

Paint on the eye black and lace up the cleats, Electronic Arts announce that Madden NFL 10 will be available in North American retail stores on Friday, August 14. The storied football franchise ushers in a new era with advancements that bring the NFL fan everything they see on Sundays, minus the grass stains.

On-field authenticity and emotion is taken to another level in Madden NFL 10. With more control over the outcome of the play than ever before, players can drag defenders towards the first down marker, fight for a fumble at the bottom of the pile, and avoid the rush by stepping up into the pocket. Utilizing an all-new animation technology, Madden NFL 10 ensures that the Fight For Every Yard doesn’t end until the whistle blows.

“The Tiburon team couldn’t be more excited about Madden NFL 10.” said Phil Frazier, Senior Producer. “With online innovation that will connect Madden fans together like never before, an immersive broadcast presentation that captures the suspense and emotion of the NFL, and the most authentic gameplay to date, Madden NFL 10 will be the pinnacle in the award-winning franchise.”

Madden NFL 10 on the Wii™ introduces a unique, genre-defining art style that will raise the bar for sports games on the console. Completely redesigned and built from the ground up, Madden NFL 10 epitomizes what fun looks like on the Wii and will deliver a social, dynamic experience for the entire living room.

Madden NFL 10 will kick off the season with the Madden NFL 10 Draft Experience hosted exclusively at maddennfl.easports.com on Saturday, April 25th. The innovative website will feature a live, streaming draft analysis show produced right from Madden headquarters in Orlando, Florida. The show will feature several interactive elements, including live call-ins from NFL athletes, on-site correspondents from New York City, and the chance for Madden fans to phone in with comments and questions. As players are drafted, their official Madden NFL 10 ratings will be released and discussed live. The website will also feature dynamic polls, social networking feeds, photos from the NFL Draft, and live blogs from the Madden NFL 10 player ratings team. The Madden NFL Draft Experience is a fully interactive destination for NFL and Madden fans alike.

The countdown to the Madden NFL 10 cover announcement begins today with the launch of maddennfl.easports.com and the There Can Only Be One campaign. Each week, check back to the Madden NFL 10 website as candidates that capture the essence of Fight for Every Yard are introduced. See who is in the running for the most coveted cover in sports video games, leading up to the Madden NFL 10 cover unveil on Friday, April 24th.

The award-winning Madden NFL franchise will be available on the Xbox 360 video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo Wii, PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system and is rated RP by the ESRB.

Madden NFL 10 is developed in Orlando, Florida by the EA Tiburon studio, which also produces NCAA Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and NASCAR Kart Racing.

Guitar Hero Sponsors Sonisphere Festivals headlined by Metallica

Guitar Hero Metallica to be Playable at SONISPHERE Festivals and Select Metallica Concert Venues In Advance Of Its Release In Europe

Activision announce its sponsorship of this year’s European Sonisphere Festivals, which are headlined by Metallica, and will be taking place in Holland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Finland, before finishing off the season with a two day festival in the UK.
At the six festivals and a host of Metallica’s European gigs, fans itching to get a taste of Guitar Hero Metallica will have the opportunity to hone their skills and shred, drum and wail on a demo of the band’s highly-anticipated game before the European release in May 2009.

“Guitar Hero Metallica offers fans a unique opportunity to live out their dreams of stardom playing as one of the greatest bands of all time to a set list of over 45 explosive rock and metal tracks,” says Siân Evans, European marketing manager, RedOctane. “To be able to play as Metallica and experience their intensity and musical skill in a video game and then watch them perform live, will be an awesomely, unique event for any music fan.”

Fans attending Metallica’s European tour dates will have the chance to win exclusive tickets to the Sonisphere Festivals and get their hands on signed Guitar Hero Metallica merchandise. Each tour date will also include Guitar Hero Metallica pre-show events where fans will have the opportunity to rock on specially made Guitar Hero® stages. At some of the concert venues, there will also be a variety of free limited-edition Guitar Hero Metallica prizes up for grabs, as well as after-parties featuring live DJs, on-stage guitar duel challenges for prizes and celebrity face-offs. A lucky handful of skilled players and performers will be able to win the chance to play the game on the Sonisphere Festival main stage in front of tens of thousands of fans and two fans from each country will win the ultimate prize, a chance to meet Metallica.



“Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and 21 other rockin’ acts in an all new Guitar Hero experience – Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Bob Seger, Alice In Chains, System of A Down, Foo Fighters and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.

Guitar Hero Metallica is developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. The Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system versions are developed by Budcat. The game is rated 12+ by the BBFC.

Ghostbusters Origin and the Making of the video game

Proving It

Now, and to be completely candid about this, as a game developer Terminal Reality had something to prove. At that time our most recent titles, Aeon Flux and Spy Hunter, each featured some great elements but neither of them exactly set the world on fire.


We had recently undergone extensive management changes and company reorganization. We firmly decided that we no longer want to be known as a developer that ships decent games on time, but instead one that focuses solely on top-quality entertainment. This had been the central message of our ‘reboot’ publisher tour in LA.

We had just proven our commitment to quality (to ourselves, anyway) by reluctantly turning down the offer of an extremely high-profile project that we felt just didn’t offer enough development time to really perfect the game.

A few months prior to that we had gone out to pitch an (different) original game IP. We had a strong document, a gameplay concept that everyone was dying to play, and even a development partnership with a high-profile, stellar, and very cool movie director who worked a room like no one I have ever seen. But what we didn’t have was a demo, and thus we never got out of the talking stages.

We learned from that experience that we have to put everything onscreen. Given this opportunity, that’s exactly what we did for Ghostbusters.


We rushed back to Texas and told the team, who was as excited by the news as we had been. Everyone jumped into making the proof-of-concept with full exuberance. This was the first official next-gen effort for the newly combined ‘big team’ at Terminal Reality. We had been dying for the chance to really show off what we can do.

The result was a playable proof-of-concept that felt, almost eerily, just like a pivotal scene in the movie: a Ghostbuster fought and captured Slimer while brutalizing a ballroom in the Hotel Sedgewick. Everything in the room, from the three-tiered cake on the buffet table to the nondescript bottles behind the bar (they’re labeled ‘Bottle’) to the heavy crystal chandelier on the ceiling could be broken, shattered, or incinerated in blazing flames.

Getting the look and functionality of the proton/capture stream right was absolutely crucial to gameplay and authenticity, so that was our first order of business. Properly scarring the walls was the second.

Within three weeks we had implemented both of these elements, as well as a fully breakable ballroom, fully animated Slimer, a ghostbuster character with working proton pack, slime and hurt reactions, a functioning ghost trap, and both blasting and rudimentary ghost-trapping gameplay.

This was the demo that we showed to our publisher, then Sony Pictures, and then to Dan Aykroyd. Everyone that saw it said that while the quality was definitely there, it also showed the team’s passion for Ghostbusters and getting it just right. Once Mark Caplan from SPCP selected a publisher, we had proved to all the parties involved that we were the right developers for this game.



Authenticity

There’s really only been one goal for this game from the very beginning: create and present a 100% authentic Ghostbusters gameplay experience. That meant the perfect Ghostbusters game would have mainstream appeal, would be action-packed, and would need to masterfully blend elements of fun and funny and scary, just like the original movie had done.

“Fun, Funny, Scary,” in fact, became our mantra. Anything that didn’t fit those criteria had to go.

We knew from the outset that lot of people would automatically assume this game was nothing but another licensed cash-in gimmick. This happens a lot, and that’s mostly a result of the fact that good movies are usually made much faster than good games can be, and tie-ins pretty much have to be released within two weeks of each other.

A tie-in rip-off is the exact opposite of anyone’s intent for Ghostbusters. We seized on the idea to embrace the property’s icons, and present them in new, fresh perspectives, as a way to convince the player that we’re on the up and up.

It’s funny, considering that almost every really enduring element from the property comes from just one movie. Ghostbusters is seriously hip-deep in icons. You’ve got the proton pack, Slimer, the Hotel Sedgewick, the PKE meter, the paragoggles, the Ecto-1, the Firehouse Headquarters, The Public Library, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Janine, that incredible logo, and the city of New York itself, which is as important a character in the Ghostbusters universe as any of the others.

For most people, the only really strong memories from the second movie tend to be mood slime, the walking statue of Liberty, and Vigo the Carpathian (we’ve got two out of three in the game).

We hit the ground running. We watched and re-watched and dissected the movies, and endlessly speculated and debated the gameplay-relevant functionality of proton streams and ghost traps and how the PKE meter works and exactly how fast four not-especially-athletic middle-aged men wearing very heavy proton packs should be able to move.



Should the player take the role of one, or any, of the Ghostbusters? We decided early on that tampering with the near-perfect dynamics already established between the Ghostbusters was flirting with disaster, so decided to introduce a cipher player character: a rookie that could both play alongside and be a Ghostbuster while still getting to sit back and enjoy the interplay between the original cast—like playing a movie and watching it at the same time. A few of us (including myself) originally wanted him to talk, but when it came time to manage the dialog for all the characters, we were very relieved there wasn’t an additional voice in the mix!

We knew the story had to be set in New York City. Trying to go anywhere else would have been coloring too far outside the lines for Ghostbusters, especially for our first time out.
We wanted the game to synch with and progress Ghostbusters canon, so we placed it just a few years after the events of the second film.

We all agreed that the sad-sack beginning of GB2, in which the city had abandoned the Ghostbusters, was too much of a downer, and you couldn’t retread that same patch anyway. So when we open the city loves the Ghosbusters, who have become New York’s official, contracted Paranormal Investigations and Eliminations experts (we ended up going heavier on the ‘Elimination’ than the ‘Investigation’, as a result of focus-testing). The new Mayor was even elected as a result of the Ghostbusters’ endorsement.

One really cool thing we’ve heard is that the overwhelming public interest in the game played a pivotal role in prompting the studio and talent to move forward on a Ghostbusters 3 movie! We’ve also heard rumors (completely unfounded allegations, and it’s irresponsible to repeat them here) that some elements from the game, and even some of the ideas we weren’t able to use, may be showing up in Ghostbusters 3, if it comes to pass. It’s hard to imagine anything much more gratifying than that. And if it doesn’t happen, we still have played a part, however small, in helping get the movie made.

Coaraline video game trailer

Based on the exciting new movie Coraline the first-ever stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3-D from Focus Features and LAIKA, the Coraline videogame is coming from D3Publisher (D3P). The game will let players take on the role of the adventurous heroine Coraline and interact with the wondrous characters from the movie while navigating the scheming Other Mothers web of deceit in a fantastical adventure through two distinct and interactive worlds.



Coraline is due for release on the Nintendo Wii console, Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system in May 2009.

The Coraline movie is absolutely mesmerizing and we feel that the visual style and tone of the game will bring the amazing stop-motion animated film and thrilling storyline to life for players, said Bill Anker, vice president of business development, D3P. Were confident that Coraline will offer a truly immersive and interactive gameplay experience that gamers as well as fans of the movie and best-selling book will enjoy.



The only videogame based on the upcoming movie, Coraline will allow players to explore and interact with such immersive 3-D environments from the movie as the Pink Palace, its nooks and crannies and apartments, and the unpredictable Other World. Players will engage in unique mini-games and adventures with Coralines friends Wybie and Cat as they collect items that will unlock the mysteries of the Other World.

Coraline is under development for Wii and the PlayStation 2 system by Papaya Studios and by Art Co. Ltd., for Nintendo DS.

Pearl Jam, Devo, Faith No More and Fall Out Boy added to Rock Band Nintendo Wii download store

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today 14 new tracks coming this week to the Rock Band Music Store catalogue of downloadable content for Nintendo Wii home videogame console from Nintendo, including Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten. This week’s new music lineup also includes new wave band Devo, punk band Fall Out Boy and, the rap infused metal-edged stylings of Faith No More.

Ten, the 1991 album that introduced the world to Pearl Jam, will be released in its entirety for download in the Wii Rock Band Music Store this week including popular hit “Jeremy” and hidden track “Master/Slave”. With the song “Alive” from Ten already featured on the Rock Band 2 soundtrack, the Rock Band Music Store will feature the other eleven tracks from the album. The Pearl Jam tracks were released to owners of Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system last week.

This week’s content update to the Wii Rock Band Music Store also includes music from new wave group Devo with the track “Through Being Cool” from the 2008 album Devo Rock Band Re-Records. In addition, Rock Band will also deliver more from Faith No More with “We Care A Lot” featured on Introduce Yourself (1987) and Fall Out Boy’s “I Don’t Care” from the band’s 2008 album Folie á Deux.

All tracks come from the back catalogue of Rock Band music already released to owners of Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system. Wii fans can expect a rollout of previously released downloadable Rock Band content until the entire back catalogue of more than 600 songs is available.

Release Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

Tracks: Pearl Jam “Once”

Pearl Jam “Even Flow”
Pearl Jam “Why Go”
Pearl Jam “Black”
Pearl Jam “Jeremy”
Pearl Jam “Oceans”
Pearl Jam “Porch”
Pearl Jam “Garden”
Pearl Jam “Deep”
Pearl Jam “Release”
Pearl Jam “Master/Slave”
Devo “Through Being Cool”
Faith No More “We Care A Lot”
Fall Out Boy “I Don’t Care”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

Price: $2.00 (200 Wii Points) per track

Location: In-game Rock Band 2 Music Store (Wii Points must be purchased through the Wii™ Shop Channel)

Sudden Attack - biggest online FPS in Korea and Japan goes global

Despite its late start in Korean Online FPS market in 2005, 'Sudden attack' leaped over 'Special Force' with its quick and speedy characteristic and community system. Now, Sudden attack is favored by the largest number of users in FPS market. Moving on with the success in Korea, Sudden attack took 1st place in Japanese online FPS market share after servicing a year in Japan, and keeps on putting effort to advance into global market, such as China, Taiwan and Brazil.



TITLE : Sudden Attack
GENRE : Online FPS
DEVELOPER : GameHi
PUBLISHER : GameHi
SERVICE TYPE : F2P, Microtransaction

1. Quick FPS
For the first time in Korean FPS games, Sudden attack takes less than 3 minutes for installing and start playing. Also, users can join games without waiting for a new start.

2. Community-Inclined
Sudden attack supports various chatting modes, macros and firm clan system, which enables users to play continuously without losing interest.

3. Low-requirements, High-quality graphics
Compared with other FPS games, Sudden attack requires relatively low system for playing, while showing high quality graphics.

4. Quick updates
The updates for new maps and firearms are done in monthly pace, which provides new interests to users continuously.

5. Simple rules and easy controls
Even the beginner users who play FPS for the first time can easily adopt into the game, and the game allows users to concentrate easy through its easy interfaces.

6. Supports various game modes
Sudden attack supports various game modes, such as Demolition missions, Capturing, Team death match, Confiscate, providing various interests to users.

Project L - 2D Side Scroll MMORPG

Concept

* Peculiar characters' troublesome adventure in fairyland

- Character OSMU of popular animation 'Vicky and Johnny'
- The game takes approach to friendly fairytales, which makes everyone to access easily.

* Easy and jaunty controls of arcade style

- The game includes the joy of arcade game control
- Controlling sensation maximizes the characters' unique and nimble movements

* Study and Entertainment are combined in a system

- The game supports many opportunities that users can learn through experiencing contents.

* Global Launching Project

- The process of the project is focused on not only servicing in Korea, but also global services.

Special features

Game System

* Multi Weapon

- Depending on the situation all weaponry can be exchanged instantly.

* Game In Game

- Another game exists inside the game

* Spring Action

- A unique action experience can be done through springs.

* Multi Use EXP

- A unique system that maximized the application of experience points.

Community System

* Party Synergy

- Party members' synergy effect varies.

* Couple System

- Couple characters' ability increase as the level of attachment increase.

* Occupation Guild

- Occupation guild system supports social activities inside the game

* CO-OP Quest System

- Cooperating quest system that combines high and low level users together

Title: Project L
Genre: 2D Side Scroll MMORPG
Engine: Originally developed (tentative name: Spring Engine)
Developer: GAMEHI
Publisher: Not determined
Service schedule: Close-beta test in the first half of 2009

Grand Theft Auto - Harbour City details leaked - Australian co-op video game

IGN are reporting the next GTA game will take place in Australia and feature destruction technology built into he game.

Massive news hit IGN Australia this morning with the leak of what appears to be the design documentation for the next Grand Theft Auto installment. According to photos provided by a reliable source, these images show 'Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City' – set in a fictionalised Sydney, Australia in the 1970s. What's more, the developer appears to be 'Rockstar Bondi' – formerly Team Bondi, makers of the mysterious and oft-delayed L.A. Noir.

Read the full post here on IGN...

Dekaron, Extreme Action Online video game

Dekaron, Extreme Action Online game, is a middle-age fantasy atmospheric MMORPG developed by GameHigh Inc. The game takes its place in Trieste, and fascinating visual graphics and 7 characters were designed to let users feel the striking sensation and speedy action in online game, which forms an attractive fantasy world.

With its surpassing worldview and scenario, Dekaron has been published as novel and comics, which are also popular. Dekaron was awarded as the game of the month in June of 2005, and is currently running official service in Japan, China, Taiwan, North America, Europe and Southeastern Asia.

TITLE : DEKARON
GENRE : MMORPG
Developer : GameHi
Publisher : GameHi
SLOGAN : EXTREME ACTION RPG
TARGET : 2~30s Gamers (MALE)
SERVICE TYPE : F2P, Microtransaction
SERVICE AREA : Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, USA
Special Features : Realistic Impact sensation,
Best graphic quality available for Low-end users,
Unique contents, such as siege war and Dead Front

Special Features of Dekaron

1. Embodiment of realistic and delicate battle system
Unlike other MMORPGs’ dull battle system, Dekaron provides realistic battles to users by designing motions based on physics laws. With this unique feature, users will be able to see that the monsters and enemies will either fly off or fall down, based on their attack’s strength. Also, users can launch a series of attack as they push away their opponent, which will make the battle even more realistic.

2. Simple Interface
The game has a simple and straight user-interface, which prevents users from being confused.

3. Increase of Artificial intelligence
The game’s reality is increased by the elevation of monsters and NPCs’ artificial intelligence.

4. Delicate and fascinating graphic
Dekaron’s original 3D engine, “Charon”, embodies a realistic and splendid graphic that is unique from other online games.

5. Unique skill system
Dekaron embodies combination and various effects by its unique system that is represented by evolution and growth.

6. Provision of organized community system
Based on party, guild and quests, Dekaron supports the formation of various relationships between users through a structured community system.

7. Embodiment of massive-sized warfare and siege war system
The massive sized warfare and guild wars are embodied to let users feel the original action quality of Dekaron.

Karcass Online video game MMORPG Introduction

In the continent, there existed 5 kingdoms. Placed in the swamp of warfare, these kingdoms struggled and split up continuously. As people were suffering from countless wars, the demon lord invaded. Corrupted demons came to the humans' world through warp gate, and soldiers of the kingdoms tried to resist.

With their repetitive loss, the alliance force retreated and prepared for a final war in the desert fortress, Queren. The soldiers fought bravely, but they became more tired as the battle lasted for days. On the seventh day, the fortress was almost defeated by the demons; only despair was there.



Then, a knight appeared from horizon. The knight rampaged through the waves of demons, and slashed them with a sharp sword. The fortress was once again filled with hope. Surprisingly, the knight was a woman, named Hertia. She lost her beloved children, and met a person. The man, covered in a black robe, saved her and taught a way to control mystic power named Arke. She called him Nameless. The alliance force reestablished army and defiance the demons. Hertia was respected by everyone as a hero who saved the fortress from despair. The fortress was in peril few more times, but the people who were taught by the Nameless, like Hertia, appeared and protected it from falling down. Mercenary Kaballa, Hunter Thelos, and Mage Feira were the heroes. They searched for people with talent, and gladly taught their knowledge to them. With their teachings, the alliance force was able to control the power of Arke, and have abilities to oppose the demons.

Then a new hero appeared. 'Ezraim', a young monk who claimed himself as a messenger of God, proclaimed Hiram, a city located in the midst of continent and filled with demons, as a sacred city and annihilated every single demons in the city. This happening, which was later named the miracle of Hiram, spread into the entire continent, and Ezraim was nominated as the first Sacred Emperor.

On the 40th year after the invasion of the demon lord, the Arke Knights with four heroes and Holy Knights with Ezraim the Holy Emperor went on their way to defeat the demon lord. After countless sacrifices and the death of four heroes, Ezraim sealed the demon lord. The Holy Emperor changed the name of Arke Knights into Neviroth Knights, and reorganized them as Emperor Escorts.

Before secluding, Ezraim left prophesies about the resurrection of the demon lord and salvation of human race, and the name "Neviroth", an eye that observes dimensions, was in the middle of the prophecy.

For next 500 years, the religion of Ezraim prevailed greatly, and conflicts between the church and kings became worse. The demon lord, Amonsatuth, broke the seal with assistance from a betrayer. Amonsatuth opened the gate of hell and summoned demons. The entire continent, just like the ancient time, was defeated in less than a half day. Few knights succeeded in evading to Elwood, and unsealed the prophecy of Ezraim. The survivors verified the prophecy, and realized that their task is to grow the force of Neviroth and find a new hero who will defeat the demons. Onto a long journey they went, to find a new hero.

Special Features

* MMORPG Side-scrolling Action MMORPG

Karcass online is a side-scrolling action MMORPG that includes the interesting elements of RPG, such as the combination of action, growth of character and skill, item collection and upgrades. Karcass online supports map environment expressed in 2D, and characters in 3D. It shows a very dynamic and unique game play, and is planning to present tough action plays to the users.

* World-Making System

Karcass online supports a 'World Making System', which enables users to create dungeons inside designated maps that fit their play styles. World Making System induces an active creation of communities between users and various play contents that the producers could not provide, and help users to experience a free-style play. Through this system, users can share their creation with other players and play together.

* Various combos and skill systems

Inclining towards a powerful action game, Karcass online presents unique skill systems that vary for each character. The attack system of Karcass online supports various combos by combining normal attacks and skills, and chain combos can be used to execute a much stronger attack. When user enters combat situations, every moves that are done increase the power gage in User Interface window. Characters can convert into 'Burst mode' once this gauge reaches maximum, and special skill can be launched to feel catharsis. Moreover, Karcass online has 'party combo system', which enables party members to attack single or multiple enemies together.

* Guild System

Every community activities in Karcass online are done through 'Guilds'. Guilds can design towns, and get priority when participating in various economical and social activities. Also, guilds can have special skills, items and quests of their own, which will be another form of interest in the game.

* Housing System

Users of Karcass online will have their own space, which can be decorated with their own taste. Users can use various items to do so, and experience various optional effects such as status recovery and increase of experience points.

Title: Karcass Online
Genre: MMORPG
Developer: JCR Soft
Publisher: Freechal(Korea)
Global Publisher: GameHi (Japan, North America, Europe)
Servicing date: 1st Closed-beta test in October 2008
Official website: http://karcass.freechal.com

System Requirements
Minimum Requirements
CPU P4 1.7Ghz
RAM 512M
VGA 64M, Shader required (Planning to change)
OS Win2000/XP

Recommended Requirements
CPU P4 2GHz
RAM 1G
VGA 128M, Shader required (Planning to change)
OS Win2000/XP